portion
Americannoun
-
portions
plural
-
a part of any whole, either separated from or integrated with it.
I read a portion of the manuscript.
- Antonyms:
- whole
-
an amount of food served for one person; serving; helping.
He took a large portion of spinach.
- Synonyms:
- ration
-
the part of a whole allotted to or belonging to a person or group; share.
-
the part of an estate that goes to an heir or a next of kin.
- Synonyms:
- inheritance
-
Literary. something that is allotted to a person by God or fate.
-
(especially formerly) the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband at marriage; dowry.
verb (used with object)
-
portions,
present (3rd person singular)
-
portioned,
past participle, past
-
portioning
present participle
-
to divide into or distribute in portions or shares (often followed byout ).
-
to furnish with a portion, as with an inheritance or a dowry.
All of his children have been amply portioned.
- Synonyms:
- endow
-
to provide with a lot or fate.
She was portioned with sorrow throughout her life.
noun
-
a part of a whole; fraction
-
a part allotted or belonging to a person or group
-
an amount of food served to one person; helping
-
law
-
a share of property, esp one coming to a child from the estate of his parents
-
the property given by a woman to her husband at marriage; dowry
-
-
a person's lot or destiny
verb
-
to divide up; share out
-
to give a share to (a person); assign or allocate
-
law to give a dowry or portion to (a person); endow
Synonym Usage
See part.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
reportionverb (used with object)
-
portionableadjective
-
portionlessadjective
-
unportionableadjective
-
unportionedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
portionsimple
-
portionssimple
-
have portionedperfect
-
has portionedperfect
-
am portioningprogressive
-
are portioningprogressive
-
is portioningprogressive
-
have been portioningperfect progressive
-
has been portioningperfect progressive
Past
-
portionedsimple
-
had portionedperfect
-
was portioningprogressive
-
were portioningprogressive
-
had been portioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of portion
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English porcion, from Old French, from Latin portiōn- (stem of portiō ) “share, part,” akin to pars part
Explanation
If a friend asks you to invest in her new start-up in exchange for a portion, or part, of the company’s profits, consider the agreement carefully. Remember, a portion of zero is still zero. Portion can also refer to the amount of food provided for each person at a meal. If you’re reviewing a restaurant, for example, you'll want to take note of the portion size. In addition, portion can be used as a verb meaning “divide and distribute something.” At birthday parties, we find it odd that the person celebrating her birthday is expected to perform the annoying task of portioning her own cake (perhaps it’s so she can claim the biggest portion).
Vocabulary lists containing portion
The ACT: The Language of the Test, List 1
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Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" (1863)
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“The last adviser we worked with lost a significant portion of our portfolio.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Instead, their presence may provide information about how prepared the antibody-producing portion of the immune system is to mount a response.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
While France has built a series of reservoirs and diversion channels along its portion of the Rhine to manage the flows, on the German side the river runs freely and is highly dependent on rainfall.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
A significant portion will come over the coming weeks.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
Once out of sight, they sat on the grass to eat, breaking pieces of apple pie off with their fingers and licking all the sticky sauce before seizing another portion.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
To keep up with the portions of protein her customers order, Singletary, who opened Urban Comfort Foods in October, has switched to a different distributor for beef and lamb.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
Alongside counting calories or eating smaller portions, many people add exercise into the equation when trying to lose weight to help tip the balance.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
"This isn't about willpower or smaller portions," Dr. Kahleova said.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
The acquired gas fields span the East Texas and Louisiana portions of the Haynesville shale formation, a prolific region that supplies Gulf Coast industrial consumers and LNG export terminals through many pipelines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
In our sort of family it is well to be the first-born: what resources there are, have later to be shared out in smaller and smaller portions.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
Meal-kit companies typically sell recipes and ready-to-cook portioned ingredients that are sent to customers’ residences, pitching easy, healthy, home-cooked meals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
One tiny spoon to dip a small bit of batter from the bowl, its twin used like a spatula to slide the perfectly portioned mound expertly into the bottom of each muffin cup.
From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2025
Fights with spouses or partners if meals aren’t portioned equally, or panic that a family member might eat the last of a favorite food — even though they’re able to go get more.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2024
The FMD is comprised of plant-based soups, energy bars, energy drinks, chip snacks, and tea portioned out for 5 days as well as a supplement providing high levels of minerals, vitamins, and essential fatty acids.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 20, 2024
Mom portioned grilled chicken wings with barbecue sauce, corn bread, and steamed broccoli onto three plates, and set them out on the table.
From "George" by Alex Gino
The precise portioning of the secret ingredients, matching the ratios of the founder’s original formula, happens in a room locked off from employees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026
He said police discovered the defendant had previously been employed as a skilled butcher and her work involved "deboning, and portioning out turkey carcasses using a large knife".
From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2026
China said it would be conducting live-fire drills on Tuesday, portioning out seven zones for the operations in the waters around Taiwan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
“We know that portioning is a core equity of ours in the organization,” Boatwright said Tuesday.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2024
"Oh, girls, why didn't I ask you which verse you preferred instead of portioning it off as I thought you would like?" she queried ruefully.
From Peggy-Alone by Anna B. Craig
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
